Aug. 2, 1906 



671 



American Ttee Journal 



they are now with the blacks, Carniolans and Cyprians all 

 mixed up as they are now. I would be very sorry indeed 

 if the Department of Agriculture were to introduce some- 

 thing that would be detrimental. We have enough reports 

 to indicate that this race nee'ds testing, and the Department 

 does not have it in control to say just exactly where these 

 bees shall go. 



Mr. McEvoy — How do you manage, Mr. France, with 

 this pickled brood? Does your experience bear out mine? 

 Feeding. 



Mr. France— Almost the same thing. This feeding to 

 avoid starvation during shortage has overcome it largely. 

 I would like to add that we are all proud of the valuable 

 paper that Dr. Phillips has given us, and I want, on behalf 

 of the Association, to ask if he will accept the enrollment 

 of the National Association on the mailing list, that anything 

 he gets of value we will all get. 



Dr. Phillips — Any person can get this for a post card. 

 If they do not want it badly enough for that it might be 

 just as well to keep it where it is. 



Dr. Miller — May I ask Dr. Phillips this practical ques- 

 tion for us who are honey-producers? I am working for 

 all the honey I can get to sell it. Is there anything that you 

 think I can do to raise the character of my bees, and to 

 get more honey from them? 



Dr. Phillips — I think you can not do anything more or. 

 less than keeping the records and cutting out all stock that is 

 not of value ; keeping the races pure at the same time. 



Dr. Miller — Now, he says, I, an every-day, common bee- 

 keeper, can do something to improve my bees, and I can 

 help him. 



Dr. Phillips — In regard to what a honey-producer can 

 do, let me cite an example. There is a man in New York 

 State who has 98 colonies of bees; he has a neighbor 5 

 miles away who has 200 colonies. One man has selected in 

 breeding for the last 10 years and has inbred very closely. 

 The other man has been buying stock from all over the 

 United States, But not selected in breeding. The man with 

 98 colonies got exactly the same amount of honey within a 

 very few pounds as the man with 200 colonies, and they 

 both admit they have about the same localities. 



Mr. Moore moved, duly seconded, that Mr. Abbott be 

 asked to give his paper this evening. Carried. 



[Continued nexl m^nth.j 



-» 



■*■<* 



(*r~ 



for Miller:* 

 %esfion-Box 



Send Questions either to the office of the American Bee Journal, 



or to Dr. C. C. Miller. Mareneo, 111. 



B3P Dr. Miller does not answer Questions by mail. 



Methods of Transferring Bees from Old Hives 



Please give two or three ways of transferring bees from 

 an old, rotten hive to a new one. I am green at the busi- 

 ness, and must get the bees out of the old hives. Some say 

 one way and some say another. Nebraska. 



Answer. — You are pretty safe to follow the instructions 

 given in the books of instruction on bee-keeping. One way 

 is to cut out the combs and fasten them into frames in 

 the time of fruit-bloom. If the old hives are movable- 

 frame hives, the frames and combs in good condition and 

 of the right size, there will be nothing to do but to lift 

 them out of one hive and put them in the other. The proba- 

 bility, however, is that the old hives are box-hives, in which 

 case there must be the cutting and fitting of combs. 



A second way is to set the old hive over the new one. mik- 

 ing all close so that no bee can get out of the old hive 

 except by going down through the new one, this to be done 

 early in the season. If the two hives are not of the same 

 size, make a board-cover to cover the lower hive and let 

 the upper hive rest upon it, the cover large enough for the 

 larger hive, and a hole cut in it as large as the inside of 



the smaller hive. When the bees work down into the lower 

 hive, the upper one can be removed, providing there is no 

 brood in it longer. If brood is still present, an excluder 

 should be put between the two hives, making sure that the 

 queen is in the lower hive, and at the farthest the brood 

 will be all gone in the upper hive 21 days after placing the 

 excluder. 



A third way is perhaps more satisfactory, and is grow- 

 ing in favor. Wait till the colony swarms, and hive the 

 swarm in the new hive, putting it on the old stand, with 

 the old line close beside it. A week later set the old hive 

 on top of the new one, and 21 days after the issue of the 

 swarm drum all the bees out of the old hive and give them 

 to the swarm. If, however, you desire increase, instead of 

 setting the old hive on top of the new one a week after 

 swarming, set it off in a new place, and 21 days after the 

 issue of the swarm drum the bees out into a new hive and 

 transfer the combs, which at that time will have no brood 

 in the way. 



It is now getting so late in the season that very likely it 

 will be as well not to do anything in the way of transferring 

 till next year. 



To go into the full subject of transferring would be to 

 go beyond the scope of this department; but if there are any 

 special points which you desire information, ask any ques- 

 tions you like, and they will be cheerfully' answered. 



An Experience with a Robbed Colony 



My apiary consists of 5 colonies, which are doing very 

 well so far. Recently a little boy reported a swarm of bees 

 on a fence. I asked how long they had been there, and he 

 replied, "About 2 weeks." I knew they would be but little 

 benefit to me, but I went and hived them, and brought them 

 home and put the hive in a row with my other colonies. A 

 few days later I saw a neighbor bee-keeper who told me to 

 give them a few frames of brood from another colony, which 

 I did, and all seemed well for a few days, when robbing 

 began and the queen was lost. I then bought a queen, but 

 the bees had again begun to gather honey and had started 

 queen-cells, and robbing stopped. I cut out the queen-cells 

 and introduced the queen successfully, the bees working 

 nicely, but there were very few of them. So I gave them a 

 few more frames of brood, and the next afternoon I again 

 noticed robbing. I shut the hive and in the evening moved 

 it to a new stand, leaving it for 2 days, then opened the hive, 

 but as they were again robbed I shut it. I then built a tent 

 of mosquito-netting 5x5x12 feet, and put them into it. They 

 had lots of honey, pollen, brood and young bees 6 or 7 days 

 old. Now come my questions : 



How long dare I keep them in the tent, or how long must 

 I keep them there? What shall I feed them? The buck- 

 wheat will be in bloom in about 3 weeks, and probably the 

 alsike clover later on. Pennsylvania. 



Answer. — It isn't a good plan to keep bees imprisoned, 

 and no matter how long you keep them shut up the robbers 

 will be likely to all attack them again when they are opened, 

 unless you wait for the buckwheat flow, which would make a 

 pretty long imprisonment. Better take away the tent in the 

 evening, right away, and pile hay or straw, 6 inches or a 

 foot deep at the entrance, so it will bother the robbers to get 

 through. It will make it more effective if the hay be well 

 wet. By taking away the tent in the evening you will allow 

 the bees to come out quietly next morning, without attract- 

 ing the attention of the robbers so much as they would do 

 if you opened them in the middle of the day. Don't take away 

 the tent in the evening till after the bees have about stopped 

 flying. It isn't a good plan to move bees to a new place 

 when robbing is going on. Many of the field-bees will be 

 lost to the colony by moving, making it weaker to defend 

 itself, and the robbers are sure to find the new place anyhow. 



Chaff Hives-Getting Bees Into Supers-Afterswarms 



1. I am a beginner in the bee-business, and would like 

 a little information which I can not get in a satisfactory way 

 from the "A B C of Bee Culture." I wish to work up to 

 about 20 or 25 colonies of bees and have no bee-cellar to 

 winter them in. I think of using nothing but chaff hives. 

 Would vou advise me to depend entirely on such hives? 



